Tag Archives: stevie wonder

Let me start by saying that this is NOT a ranked list of my favorite songs. What it is though is the result of an exercise I performed where I tried to document my all time favorite song from each letter of the English alphabet, using each letter to represent either the singer or the band. I could find no other example of this exercise on the internet. Some of these were no-brainers for me, for example the letter “G” – Garbage is a band I really love. A few letters gave me heartache, for example the letter “B” – no Beatles song? Am I crazy? Don’t worry, there’s a Lennon song here for you die hard Beatles fans. I just had to count in the classic by Blue Oyster Cult. The letters “X” and “V” were difficult because offhand I could not think of a group or singer beginning with X and the only ones I could think of for V were Bobby Vinton and the Ventures. The entire exercise must have taken me a good 6 hours of effort as I’d make a short list for each letter and then I’d have to imagine hearing each one, trying to figure out which I ‘really’ loved. Then I’d come back to the list the next day and maybe change a letter – “P” was a good example as I think I had a Pink Floyd there for a long time before remembering how much I loved the song Roxanne. Most of these songs have a special memory attached to them for me and I’m sure there are a few in here that you’ve never heard. Maybe give some of them a listen – you might stumble upon a new sound you enjoy. Oh, and I’d challenge you to do this exercise yourself. You’ll find it as difficult as I did, I’m sure. I’m a rock and pop guy – your list might be classical or jazz. That’s ok; music is like food – beauty is in the senses of the beholder. Enjoy:

I’ve written a few stories that mentioned our local west side Hamiltucky skating rink. The stories mentioning early interactions with my wife and with my then best friend Terry represent important memories for me. If I’m comparing to today’s teens, for a lot of us high schoolers, the skating rink was our ‘mall’. It was THE place for social interaction, whether it be friendship, love or a number of any other dramas. Friday and Saturday nights had to be spent at the rink if you wanted to get away from the boring adults and wanted to be a part of that weekend’s kid drama.